Drago Design

Are we looking at AI through rose-colored glasses? 🌹👓

AI can provide a great baseline image, but it takes a designer's eye and technical toolkit to transform it into a polished, professional illustration. For this typographic illustration, I wanted to explore that exact balance between automated tools and manual ex*****on.

Swipe to see my process for this typographic illustration! 👉

1. Refining the Base Image: The original AI asset had a strange, scale-like texture and blotchy background. I used Photoshop’s smudge, blur, clone stamp, and selection brush tools for Generative AI to clean up the digital artifacts and create a smooth, painted finish.

2. Typographic Layout & Color: Inspired by lettering from Vector_iland, I built a custom typographic layout designed to sit beautifully above the glasses, locking the two elements into a single cohesive image. I pulled the composition together using a palette of warm pinks and purples, with beige as a baseline color for a harmonious typographic illustration.

AI is incredible for exploration, but the magic still happens in the human refinement, typography choices, and technical ex*****on.

What tools are you currently utilizing to blend AI into your design workflow? Comment below👇 and follow for more inspiration and design breakdowns!

Every element in design should be intentional.

I designed this editorial piece with that in mind—bringing together symbols that are scripturally significant, while also reflecting the gentleness that Jesus walked in.

That’s where the delicate script and softer tones come in.

I didn’t just want this to be visually interesting—I wanted it to carry weight and to feel meaningful.

Because it is.

I’m keeping this space design focused, but if you’re interested in faith-based content and want to read the full writing behind this piece, comment “BLOG” and I’ll DM you the link 📥

I love the challenge of putting imagery to Scripture. For this piece, I translated ancient symbols into a modern editorial aesthetic.

I used an olive branch pattern as a visual for the Mount of Olives, grounding the shofar to a significant location in Scripture. I also chose the delicate Salty Feathers script by Sans & Sons (via ) to balance the visual weight of the illustrated shofar in the forefront.

This piece was designed in Adobe Illustrator using hand-rendered illustrations. It was created for a new feature on my blog. I’m keeping this feed focused on the design craft, but I’d love to share the writing with you if you’re interested in faith-based content.

Put BLOG in the comments and I’ll DM you the link to the full piece! 📥